"The key to understanding the Bible is to look for Jesus in the Bible. Jesus is the hero of the Bible. If you read the Bible and don't find Jesus, re-read it! The Bible has one hero, His name is Jesus; one villain, that is Satan; one problem, that is sin; one solution, that is salvation. That is what the Bible is all about." -Dr. Adrian Rogers

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

If you are here reading this today and you are not already married,
my guess is that you probably would like to be at some point in the future. If
that is you, my goal in writing this blog post today is to challenge your
reasoning for wanting to get married. If you want to get married simply because
you don’t like the idea of spending the rest of your life alone, my friend,
marriage is not the answer to loneliness. No. Marriage is first and foremost a
journey of faith—two people coming together to serve God together in a way that
they never could apart from one another.

In the beginning, when God created the first marriage, He
said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Genesis 2:8,
emphasis added). Notice there that God said that he would make for Adam a helper; He didn’t say lover. Most people
today fall in love over moonlight and roses and think, “Oh, we’ll get married,
and everything will be just hunky-dory.” However, once they get married, they
find out that everything isn’t hunk-dory at all. That’s because that’s not how
marriage works, folks. Marriage is when a man and a woman come together with
the purpose of serving God and each other every day for as long as they both
shall live.

Having said all that, you may be thinking, “Well, how do
they do that”? First of all, they do it by illustrating the love of Christ for
His church, the husband representing Christ and the wife representing the
church. Ephesians 5:25 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just
as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Likewise, Ephesians
5:22 says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” That’s what
marriage is. It is a reminder to the world of how much God loves His people and
how we are to honor Him as our Heavenly Father. It is for this reason alone
that God hates divorce.

Secondly, God calls husbands and wives to
train up the next generation. Not only did God tell Adam and Eve to “be
fruitful and multiply,” but He instructs us in Proverbs 22:6 to “train
up a child in the way he should go, [that] when he is old he will not
depart from it.” This is why I will always believe that becoming a parent is so
much more than a biological process. Simply put, parenthood is a calling. When
God gives you a child, He expects you to bring up that child in His Word. If
you don’t do that, you have failed as a parent.

Adrian & Joyce Rogers

Lastly, when God brings a man and woman
together in marriage, He creates a ministry. Those two people are to minister
to one another, growing closer to each other as they grow closer to the Lord.
They are to pray together, study God’s word together, and serve others
together. If you are married, you ought to be thinking of ways that you as a
couple can reach this world for Christ. I will never forget hearing Adrian
Rogers tell how he and his wife, Joyce, got down on their knees together on
their wedding night and committed their marriage to the Lord. When God brings
two people together in marriage, He brings them together for a purpose. It is
up to you to find out what that purpose is and start working to fulfill it.

Maybe you are here today, and nothing I
have said makes sense to you because you have never acknowledged Jesus Christ
as Lord of your life. If that is you, it is my earnest prayer that you will
give your heart and your life to Him before it is eternally too late for you.
Simply turn from all sin and trust Christ alone to save you. If you will do
that, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

Today being the day after Valentine’s Day, I really wanted to write
something concerning love, marriage, and family; however, as hard as I tried, I
just couldn’t seem to find the words to say. Therefore I thought that I would
post the below video of Jim Bob and Michele Duggar sharing their life-story. If
you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ve no doubt heard me say many times
that marriage is first and foremost a journey of faith—two people coming
together to serve God together in a way that they never could apart from one
another. I’ve not encountered a couple yet who illustrates that concept and
lives it better than Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.

When it comes to marriage, there are two points in this
video that really caught my attention. The first one is that Michelle realized
that it was God’s will for her to marry a man who had a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ and who talked about Him in such a way that revealed his
overwhelming love for Him. Secondly, Jim Bob realized that it is God’s will for
the husband to be the spiritual leader of the home. If you are thinking about
marrying a person whose very presence does not cause you to hunger and thirst
for the Lord Jesus and His Word, I can promise you on the authority of the Word
of God that it is not God’s will for you to marry that person as they are.

When it comes to parenting, there is one major point that I
got out of this video. That one point is that parenthood is a special calling;
not something that just happens out of the blue. The Bible makes it plain that
every child is formed by the hands of God with a very specific plan and purpose
to fulfill. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;
and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained
thee a prophet unto the nations.” As God has a plan for all children, He also
has a plan for all parents to “train up a child in the way he
should go: [that] when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

When it comes to life, the one thing I took
away from this video is to “cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to
be moved” (Psalm 55:22). Michelle suggested that we let the joy of the Lord be
our strength (Nehemiah 8:10), and I couldn’t agree more. Philippians 4:4 says
to “rejoice in the Lord always.” God has blessed each and every one of us
beyond measure. Even in our darkest moments, we can still praise His name,
knowing that He will see us through.

Please take the time to watch this video. I
get something new out of it every time I watch it. I’ll even let you in on a
little secret—I’ve often said that I want to marry Michelle Duggar’s much
younger twin. When you watch this video, I believe you’ll see why. The Duggars
truly are a family after God’s own heart. I know you’re going to be blessed by
their testimony.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

To this day, I remember very well the scene with a young Shirley
Temple bouncing around a dining room full of kids, singing, “Animal crackers in
my soup. Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop.” You see, my grandmother loved
Shirley Temple and, on more than one occasion, forced me and my cousins to
watch her films; although I can’t say that we ever really minded watching them.
Today, in fact, I’m rather glad I can say that I’ve seen a Shirley Temple film
or two, even though I can only remember one scene from one movie. Shirley
Temple-Black is an American legend, and rightly so.

It has been said by former child actor Darryl Hickman that “Shirley’s
gift to show business, to the United States, and to the movie-going public was
a revelation of the creativity and the sense of joy and fun of childhood that
is in each of us.” He then added, “I don’t think any child ever did that better
than Shirley Temple.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt was even noted for
saying, “As long as we have Shirley Temple, we’ll be alright.”

Shirley Temple, with her famous curls, brought hope to American
movie-goers during the Great Depression. She later went on to serve her country
as United States Ambassador to Ghana, Chief of Protocol of the United States,
and, in 1989, she became the twenty-seventh United States Ambassador to
Czechoslovakia. For over eighty years, Shirley Temple-Black served her country
well.

Sadly, the lady once known as “America’s little darling” is
no longer with us. Shirley Temple-Black passed away Monday night at the age of
eighty-five. She is one of those very few Hollywood celebrities that we can say
spent her life well, leaving this world with no known scandal attached to her
name. As her mother often encouraged her to do, Shirley Temple truly sparkled.
It is for that reason that I plan on sharing Shirley’s movies with my children,
and I pray you will do the same.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Have you ever put any thought into the fact that the King of Glory
came to earth to trade streets of gold for roads of dirt and gravel? Have you
ever put any thought into the fact that the God of the universe would trade
eternal bliss for hunger, for thirst, for sorrow, for pain, for suffering, for
temptation, etc.? The Bible says that Jesus was fully God and fully man. He
didn’t allow Himself to be exempt from the struggle that we all face here
below. And I can only ask myself “Why”?

Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high
priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” That verse says it
all, really. God is not some distant ruler who seeks to be appeased by
outlandish rituals. He knew that our sin kept us from coming to Him, so He came
to us, wrapped in flesh. He became one of us that we might become like Him.

He walked and He talked among men. He knew
them personally. He knew them intimately. He was known as a friend of sinners
(Luke 7:34). He touched the untouchable and loved the unlovable. He sought out
the despised and rejected. He came “that they might have life,” He said, “and
that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

The woman at the well found that, when we
are unwilling to search for Him, His is willing to search for us. My friend, no
matter where you are in life, Jesus wants to meet you where are. You don’t have
to get cleaned up. You don’t have to build an altar. All you have to do is
acknowledge His presence right where you are, and He will meet you there.

Do you know the Lord today? I mean, do you
know Him personally? If not, He gave His life that you may do so. Only through
the shed blood of Jesus can we know Him. If you will turn from all sin and
trust Jesus alone to save you, He will save you today and keep you saved forever. Thank God He is a personal
Savior!

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John 14:6

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"

Joshua 24:15

"Choose you this day whom ye will serve."

Psalm 145:2

"Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever."

About Me...

Thank you so very much for reading my blog! My name is Tommy, and I am just an old-fashioned sinner saved by God's amazing grace. I've made so many foolish decisions in my lifetime, many of which I wish I could forget. However, I thank my God that He's not finished with me yet!

I realize there are many people who can write a whole lot better than I can, but no one can write about a more gracious and loving God than I can. Please join me as we explore the awesomeness of God's Word together. Again, thanks for stopping by!

Mission Statement

Since this blog is a combination of what used to be two separate blogs, I have two missions when it comes to posting to this blog. If you are a Christian, my goal is to encourage you in your personal relationship with the Lord. And if you are anyone else, my goal is to help you realize your need for Him in your life.

Thank you so much for reading!

Say an Everlasting "Yes!" to Jesus Today

As mentioned before, I have a number of reasons for having this blog; however, my main goal is for those who do not know Jesus Christ as Lord to come to know Him before it is eternally too late for them. If you do not know Him personally, listen closely.

I often say that the ultimate reality of life is this: God created, I sinned against Him, and then Jesus Christ saved my sorry soul. If you are here today and think you do not need to be saved, you are sadly mistaken. Adrian Rogers said, "There is no one so good that he need not be saved; and there is no one so bad that he cannot be saved."

The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." If you have ever lied, stolen, or taken God's name in vain, you are guilty of sinning against the most high God. But it does not stop at that. Jesus said that even if we look with lust at another person, we have committed adultery in our heart--God even sees what others cannot. God is a holy and righteous Judge and will not let any who are guilty enter His Kingdom of Heaven.

This means that, if you have broken God's holy Law even once, you will be in big trouble come Judgment Day. However, two thousand years ago God made provision for you and me when He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to be born of a virgin and later die on an old, rugged cross for all the sins of the world. Friend, not only were you on His mind that day, but He was in your place.

Jesus died so that you may be set free--He took your punishment so that you would not have to. And if you will turn from your sin and trust in Christ alone to save you, He will save you today and keep you saved forever. So please say "no" to sin and an everlasting "yes" to Jesus, today!

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Awesome Quotes

"You might not want to accept Him because He'll change your life, and you'll never be the same." -Facing the Giants

"I'm not the best preacher in the world--there are a lot of people who can preach the Gospel better than I can. But no one can preach a better Gospel than I can because there's only one..." -Adrian Rogers